Movie Spotlight

Iranian filmmaker Mohsen Makhmalbaf's Kandahar recounts the journey of Nafas (Nelofer Pazira), an Afghan-born, Canadian-raised journalist who returns to her homeland to prevent her sister's suicide. The sister, despondent after being maimed by a landmine, declares that she will kill herself during an approaching solar eclipse. Nafas only has two days to make her way from the Iranian border to Kandahar to prevent the death. Following Nafas on her journey, Makhmalbaf captures the suffering and poverty of Afghans under Taliban rule and the crippling effects of the country's 20 year history of war. See "Opening Friday" for details.